Amongst the Mists by M.L Rayner

Between the Dragon King and His Wrath... The First Cut (A Jane Renwick Thrille...

Amongst the Mists by M.L Rayner

It was the most anticipated summer break of their young lives.

For Bran Lampshire, that summer of 1986 would be far different. The lure of a wilderness adventure sends him and his friends on a troublesome journey that would see them far from home and into the isolated shadows of the Sleathton Estate.

#AmongTheMists #MLRayner @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour

In a forgotten land where nature thrives, an unexplained mist settles upon the shaded grounds. And stories were told of events so chilling, they were forcibly buried over time.

Lose yourself beneath the endless trees. And discover that legends are sometimes so much more than ghost stories.

My Review

It all starts out as an innocent boys’ camping trip in the summer of 1986, when Bran, Marcus and Jack set off following the trail on Marcus’s antique map to the grounds of the Sleathton Estate. All seems well at first, but then Marcus falls off his bike and they are ‘rescued’ by a mysterious old man named Gregory. He takes them to his house in an abandoned village called Thyme and tells him about the myth surrounding the swamp, and the reasons why the village is now deserted. If they’d had the internet back then, I doubt they would have gone near.

Bran and Marcus have always been friends, but Marcus has invited Jack (who Bran calls ‘Special’ – it was the eighties remember), a slightly strange boy with odd coloured eyes. I really liked Jack, and Marcus, not so much Bran, who is a pain in the neck to be honest.

In the meantime, we hear from Olivia, a young girl wandering in the woods, near the swamp. But she’s been here many times and knows her way. Then she hears a voice that seems to be asking her to follow. The voice just repeats the same word ‘lost’ over and over. I found Olivia’s story the most harrowing. We feel her fear and ultimate panic.

Oh my goodness, what a creepy tale! It’s so cleverly written that I didn’t understand what was going on until the very last two chapters. And then it made sense. I never would have guessed. Would I want to go there and ‘check it out’? Not if my life (or my very soul) depended on it. Great stuff!

Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Born and bred in the county of Staffordshire. Matt is a keen reader of classical, horror and fantasy literature and enjoys writing in the style of traditional ghost stories. During his working life, Matt joined the ambulance service in 2009, transporting critically ill patients all over the UK. After writing his first novel, Matt now dedicates his time on future releases. His hobbies include genealogy and hiking, and he enjoys spending time with his wife, Emma, his children, and his family.